Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,424 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Westlake were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $376,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Westlake by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 89,310 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,500,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,260,000. Clarius Group LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,492,000. 28.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Westlake

In other news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total value of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Robert F. Buesinger sold 3,878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.50, for a total transaction of $560,371.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,055,308. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mark Steven Bender sold 4,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.02, for a total value of $677,460.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 45,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,389,052.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,658 shares of company stock valued at $1,923,225. 74.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WLK shares. Vertical Research downgraded Westlake from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays upped their price target on Westlake from $142.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America raised Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $138.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group upped their price target on Westlake from $139.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Westlake from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.79.

Westlake Price Performance

Shares of WLK opened at $149.55 on Friday. Westlake Co. has a 12 month low of $103.28 and a 12 month high of $162.64. The company has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $147.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.09). Westlake had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 3.82%. The business had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Westlake Co. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Westlake’s payout ratio is 54.05%.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.